Lord of Annihilation

Chapter 365: Interlude. Part 2

Thunk! Click. Click.

Firmly shutting the suitcase that was laid spread on his bed, Riker fastened the two buckles on its edges producing a satisfying 'click' sound.

After confirming that the suitcase was properly closed, he sat on a wooden chair beside the bed and let out a sigh, "That takes care of that." 

Leaning back on the chair, he absentmindedly stared at the plain wooden ceiling while immersing himself within his thoughts. His eyes dilated in quiet remembrance and a faint smile appeared on his face.

'It's already been twelve years since I left the army, huh? I wonder if she still remembers me and treasures our promise.'

His eyes then fell on a certain piece of parchment laid spread on the table beside the chair causing the smile on Riker's face to become more prominent and bloodthirsty. 

An intense murderous look appeared within his eyes as he read the words written on the paper for the nth time.

[Elven King Elysion will be attending the crowning of the Emperor of the Grand Alcana Empire to personally support his dear friend.]

[A company of the Royal Guards will be protecting him. The strength of the respective guards varies inside Stage 4. It is confirmed that there will be no Stage 5 guards within his personal guards.]

The smile on his face turned malicious and the murderous aura around Riker turned even more intense. So much so, that the surrounding space around him started to quake and tear.

Astonishingly, Riker's body was emitting the power of a Stage 5 being! 

Feeling that the surrounding space was on the verge of total collapse, Riker hurriedly closed his eyes and calmed himself, retracting his aura. 

He did not want to accidently create a black hole and doom the innocent planet which he was currently on to a fate of utter destruction. 

"Deep breath. Take a deep breath. Soon, you'll get to kill that bastard soon enough," Riker gently placated himself. 

After having sufficiently calmed down, he softly slapped the armrests of the wooden chair and jumped to his feet, "Alright then."

Grabbing the handle of the small suitcase on the bed, Riker held it in one of his hands while using the other to burn the piece of parchment into oblivion.

Walking towards the door adjacent to the bed, Riker turned around one last time and took a final look at the room that served as his home for the last two years.

It was too simple only possessing a single bed, a desk and chair, and a small shack attached to the room which served as the bathroom.

Nonetheless, Riker possessed fond memories of this place. After all, this was the place that had served as his base while he performed his breakthrough into the next Stage!

"Well, then. I guess this is goodbye," he cheerfully spoke to the empty room.

Turning around, Riker grabbed his coat and hat hanging from the back of his door and wore them. Opening the door, he then exited the small room

----------

After paying his final dues to the inn in which he had stayed, Riker bid farewell to the kind, simple-looking lady at the counter and left the place. 

Walking out of the inn, Riker walked down the crude and muddy streets of the small village while looking around. 

He periodically waved his hand and greeted the residents with whom he had become familiar during the last two years.

Riker's current whereabouts were within a small nameless village in a random backwater planet that was located on the very fringes of the Middle Regions. 

It was a simple, lonely planet that was neither special nor technologically advanced, staying at the Medieval Earth-level. There were no special goods of value drawing the attention of the Universe's merchants or traders, and as such, it was left to its own devices with many not even knowing about its existence. 

The only reason why Riker stumbled upon this random planet was that he came across this place while looking for places to undergo seclusion for his breakthrough into the next Stage. 

While the planet was nothing special, this specific village fondly reminded Riker of this birthplace. As such, he had settled within the village as a wandering doctor while undergoing his breakthrough.

Of course, the actual ascension was not done in the planet since Stage 5 Ascensions are powerful enough to destroy entire planets during the process. Riker had simply run to a nearby desolate planet and had completed it there when he felt the ascension loom closer.

Fortunately, everything worked out in the end as not only did Riker breakthrough into the Fifth Stage but had also got to spend the last two years in a place that closely resembled his own place of birth.

"Ah! Mr. Riker! What's this? Are you leaving the village!?" Seeing the suitcase in Riker's hands, a buff, bronze-colored native of the village yelled out.

"Huh?" "What!?" "Mr. Riker is leaving!!?"

Startled by the buff native's yell, multiple other voices also chimed in. Immediately, the various residents of the village flooded out of their houses and swarmed around Riker.

"What is this? How come you never said anything about it to your favorite aunt?"

"Aunt? Please! Have you recently looked at yourself within the mirror, old woman?"

"Old Woman!!? Why don't you come a little closer and I'll show you what this 'old woman' is capable of!"

"Oi! Go someplace else and quarrel. We are trying to get some answers from Mr. Riker here!"

"Mr. Riker. Here, I've packed some loaves of bread for your journey. Take this with you and be safe."

"Mr. Riker, I've"

One after the other, the simply dressed residents of the village swarmed around Riker and presented him with one package after the other. Their eyes uniformly shone with worry and admiration for the elf. 

Of course, their respect for him stemmed from Riker's actions toward the residents of this village. Not only was he a polite and kind young man, but he was also a proficient doctor!

Many a time over the last two years, Riker had used his medical skills to help many of the residents in the village. 

While it was nothing much with his strength, in the eyes of the villagers Riker's status was only a little less than the God whom they worshipped!

While receiving their presents, explaining to them that he was leaving on a journey, and politely thanking them, Riker suddenly felt a tug at his leg. Gazing down, he saw a little girl looking at him with big, teary eyes.

"M-Mr. Riker, will you come back to our village?"

Hearing that question, even the villagers around Riker froze and looked towards him with shinning, expectant eyes. 

Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Riker inwardly let out a bitter, sad smile. Outwardly, however, he remained as cheerful as ever and replied.

"I can't guarantee anything, as the journey that I'll be going on will be filled with many dangers. However, if I manage to safely finish everything that I want to do, then I'll surely come back here!" He then patted the little one's head. 

A bright smile and a healthy blush appeared on the little girl's face as she lowered her head. With a quiet voice, she softly said, "I'll be waiting for you to come back!"

"Haha! How cute," Riker patted her a few more times before reassuring the other villagers. 

Some of them had grown worried when he had mentioned dangers but were quickly placated by Riker's reassurances and promises. Just as much as the villagers had come to adore Riker, he had also come to adore the villagers.

It was a simple place that made Riker content and happy in his heart.

Making it all the way to the exit of the village during the following hour, Riker finally managed to extricate himself from the crowd, walked towards the wooden gate, and waved them a final goodbye.

Some of the villagers seemed to be tearing up but most had honest smiles on their faces. 

"I'll get going then. Perhaps, we'll mee"

"MR. RIKER! MR. RIKER!!"

An abrupt scream interrupted Riker's farewell. Hearing that scream, the heads of every villager simultaneously turned towards the newcomer.

"Hunter Jack? What's wrong?" one of the villagers recognized the newcomer and asked.

Ignoring that question, Jack hurriedly made his way through the crowd and fell at Riker's feet.

"Mr. Riker! I beg you! Please save my wife and child! PLEASE!" He begged.

Riker seemed to be confused by the sudden request when another villager within the crowd suddenly spoke up.

"Wasn't Hunter Jack's wife about to give birth to their fourth child one of these days? Did something happen!?"

Hearing that Riker's eyes immediately shone with realization and a solemn look appeared within his eyes. Immediately grabbing Hunter Jack and carrying him in one of his hands, Riker spoke.

"Let's go."

----------

Arriving at the entrance of a simply constructed wooden hut at the edge of the village, Riker heard the painful screams of a woman coming from within. Letting go of Hunter Jack, Riker quickly made his way into the house and got to work on helping the woman.

With a quick scan of the woman on the coarse mattress using his soul power, Riker immediately identified the problem. 

The umbilical cord had somehow managed to twirl itself around the baby's neck and right arm, which resulted in complications during the baby's delivery. Thankfully, the child still seemed to be alive, while the mother's blood loss hadn't reached a critical point.

Having identified the problem Riker immediately got to work and using his powers, it took only a few minutes before the issues were resolved. 

The child was safely delivered and the mother's injuries were also treated. However, due to having lost a fair amount of her blood, the mother sank into a sleep from tiredness.

After confirming that the mother was completely alright, Riker then let out a sigh and turned his gaze towards the quiet baby within his arms. Instantly, his brows furrowed as Riker noticed that the baby was a littletoo quiet.

However, he could clearly hear the heartbeat and feel the blood flow within the child!

Using his soul power to perform an intricate and detailed scan, Riker's pupils suddenly widened to the maximum and an incomparable amount of shock filled his heart.

Riker stumbled back and hit his back against the narrow walls of the hut, and nearly dropped the child in the process.

"Thi-this-THIS!! How is this possible!!?"

Riker screamed.

"HOW IS THERE NO SOUL WITHIN THIS CHILD'S BODY!!?